Why is the Brazilian Amazon being destroyed? In many tropical countries, the majority of deforestation results from the actions of poor subsistence cultivators. However, in Brazil only about one-third of recent deforestation can be linked to cultivators. Historically, a large portion of deforestation in Brazil can be attributed to land clearing for pastureland by commercial and speculative interests, misguided government policies, inappropriate World Bank projects, and commercial exploitation of forest resources. A significant amount of deforestation is caused by the subsistence activities of poor farmers who are encouraged to settle on forest lands by government land policies. Poor farmers use fire for clearing land and every year satellite images pick up thousands of fires burning across the Amazon.
www.mongabay.com/brazil.html Acess on May 28 ,2008. (condesed/adapted)
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